Exclusive Interview: 2x times Fittest Women on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey and coach and husband Shane Orr talk about their reasons to move to Cookeville to train with Rich Froning.

The decision has been made!

As you all know, there have been rumours earlier this summer about 2x times Fittest Women on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey and her husband/coach Shane Orr moving to Cookeville. We had the chance to speak with them yesterday in an exclusive interview about the rumours and the truth behind it.

There have been some rumors recently about you two moving to Cookeville. Could you tell us if these speculations are true?

Tia: The rumours are true. We are heading to Cookeville.

Shane: Originally the rumours before the Games were not true at that point. However we can happily say that they are now true. 😊

Winning the CrossFit Games twice in a row is usually no reason to change something in the existing system. Which reasons ultimately led to this decision?

Tia: This [editor’s note: the move to Cookeville] has always been an ambition of ours and with the recent changes in the Crossfit world it has only increased our desire to move over sooner.

Shane: This is a question that we both are aware of and have invested a substantial amount of thought into. To put simply though, Tia and I have had the pleasure of visiting Cookeville a few times now and each time we leave with saying that it reminds us of home. The people are supportive and very friendly, world class facilities and for the most part the weather is extraordinary.

Tia-Clair Toomey visited Cookeville with Shane and James Newbury ahead of this year’s Games.

Moving to Cookeville means also selling your box CrossFit Gladstone and more than that, leaving your friends and family for an indefinite period of time. How hard was this step for you?

Tia: This was the hardest part of the whole process. Our friends and family have been so supporting of the whole process and I can’t thank them enough for their support. What does make the move easy is knowing that our affiliate, Crossfit Gladstone is now in great hand. That is one thing we won’t need to worry about.

Shane: Like Tia mentioned, our friends and family have been so supportive and positive of the change. We are so appreciative for the opportunity we had in Gladstone and we are already looking forward to our visit back.

Are you giving this stay in Cookeville a certain time frame or is this a move indefinitely?

Tia: At the least we are going to commit ourselves to 12 months. Hopefully Cookeville won’t be sick of us by then.

Tia’s Instagram post earlier this week already gave a hint of what’s to come.

The decision to move to Cookeville was obviously made before the big changes of the CrossFit Games were announced. Are you concerned about the new system or that it could influence your work as a full-time Crossfit athlete in any way? And how does the change in the event calendar influence your training for 2018/2019?

Tia: The new system is something that I am excited for. We still don’t know a lot of the sanctioned events however moving forward I am just focusing on what I can control and that is to get fitter and stronger.

Shane: This move to Cookeville will be a significant benefit to commute to all these sanctioned events. Unfortunately Australia is extremely far from 3/4 of the announced events. With all the travel and expenses this can be a significant burden. Tia and I are extremely excited for the move and the new season ahead.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview. We wish both of you all the best for this next journey.

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